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What are the main differences between on-premise and cloud contact centres? Location and lift.
On-premise is the traditional setup for a contact centre. All the required hardware, software, and infrastructure are housed and maintained at a physical location. A business running an on-premise contact centre, which might be one server or multiple servers located in a suburban office building, is responsible for managing, upgrading, and securing that entire operation.
A cloud-based contact centre, on the other hand, is operated entirely online, with a third-party provider hosting its technology and infrastructure. Companies access cloud contact centre services via the internet. This arrangement allows for more scalability and flexibility, less upfront costs, as well as easier updates and greater remote work capabilities for contact centre staff.
Choosing which type of contact centre makes the most sense for your business can be tricky, as both setups have advantages and disadvantages to consider. To help you with your decision-making process, let’s dive deeper into some of the key differences — and similarities — between on-premise and cloud contact centres.
Let’s focus first on the on-premise setup, which is the traditional model for contact centre operations, and its pros and cons.
On-premise call centres and contact centres, also sometimes referred to as premise or legacy contact centres, are hosted and managed by a company for its own exclusive use.
The company owns the entire infrastructure, including hardware and software. It also owns the data. It might host the entire operation in its own data centre or in other real estate, which might be owned by the company or leased from a third party.
On-premise call and contact centres have three clear advantages for businesses.
Companies have full control over the design, features, and workflows of their on-premise contact centre systems, allowing them to customise everything from call routing and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) menus to integrations with internal tools like customer relationship management (CRM) systems. This flexibility ensures that the contact centre operations are in harmony with business processes.
Companies also control the data generated by their on-premise contact centre operations. Data privacy and security are enhanced with the on-premise setup because the data is hosted internally. Businesses can implement their own security measures, such as encryption standards, data storage policies, and compliance protocols, which is particularly important for industries with strict regulatory requirements like healthcare or financial services.
A company that chooses the on-premise contact centre approach will be well-positioned to make the most of its current technology investments, like databases, CRM systems, and call centre management tools. This creates benefits such as:
The ability to integrate with existing infrastructure helps businesses optimise both their existing resources and the performance of their contact centre operations.
The long-term administrative costs of operating an on-premise contact centre or call centre can be lower than those typically associated with cloud-based setups. (Whether the physical premises for the contact centre are owned or leased by the business factors into the overall cost equation, of course.)
Another advantage of operating an on-premise contact centre is the reduced need for ongoing expenditures since the equipment is typically purchased upfront. In contrast, most cloud contact centre operators charge users an annual subscription fee for software.
On-premise contact centres can have higher upfront costs than cloud contact centres. In addition to investments in hardware, software, and other equipment, there are real estate costs to consider. Construction costs have risen considerably in recent years, and even the costs associated with taking over existing premises can be steep, especially if renovations are needed.
In cloud contact centres, the responsibility for maintaining hardware and upgrading software is the operator’s, not the user’s. In contrast, the entire responsibility for maintenance of on-premise contact centre equipment, vendor relationships, and software upgrades is the responsibility of the owner/user.
Business continuity is one of the greatest risks of operating on-premises contact centres versus cloud contact centres. A physical call centre can be sidelined by a natural disaster, like an earthquake or flooding, or a problem at the facility, such as a fire. The risk of downtime can be mitigated by operating contact centres in multiple locations to create redundancy; however, that’s costly, too.
Next up, let’s look at the potential upsides and downsides of using a cloud-based solution for your call centre or contact centre.
Cloud contact centres, also known as hosted contact centres, exist in the cloud. The cloud is a global network of servers that store data, run applications, and deliver services, such as contact centre operations, via the internet. Cloud contact centres provide users with access from anywhere as long as they have an internet connection.
Cloud contact centres typically have lower upfront costs than on-premise contact centres because they don’t require expensive physical facilities or hardware. A contact centre operation can also be implemented far more quickly in the cloud, sometimes in as little as 72 hours. On-premise contact centres sometimes take months to bring online.
Cloud contact centres allow businesses to scale up and down more quickly than on-premises contact centres. Users can contract for more or less service based on need and even seasonal demand.
Users of cloud contact centres face less pressure to upgrade systems. Regular upgrades, patches, and support are routinely conducted by the cloud contact centre service provider. This arrangement also gives users access to advanced features and functionality and the latest innovations.
Cloud contact centres are often targeted by malicious hackers and other bad actors operating in cyberspace. According to PwC’s 2024 Global Digital Trust Insights survey, cyberattacks on cloud services are the top concern for business leaders, including in healthcare, where cyberattacks are more costly in dollar terms than any other industry.
Users of cloud contact centres don’t have control over call centre operations so they are very much dependent on their service provider. Even so, according to research and advisory firm Metrigy, more than 58% of businesses in North America have adopted cloud contact centre services from a third-party service provider.
Lastly, the very infrastructure that makes cloud contact centres so attractive to businesses can also be a disadvantage. Cloud is reliant on internet access. If internet service is disrupted for any length of time, customer service can be disrupted — and that can lead to financial loss and reputation damage for a business.
Whether you choose an on-premise or cloud setup for your contact centre, you will want to deploy robust and reliable technologies that will complement your operations. Doing so will help to create efficiency and ensure a superior customer experience (CX).
Invoca’s conversational AI platform, for example, integrates seamlessly with on-premise and cloud platforms and provides features and options like the following to help businesses optimise their contact centre operations.
Invoca uses intelligent call routing to transfer incoming calls to the right agent or department every time, even across multiple call centres. The technology assesses various factors, such as the caller’s location, the nature of their inquiry, and their previous web interactions. By using this information to direct calls appropriately, Invoca helps companies cut down on transfers and answer inquiries faster.
Invoca’s Interactive Voice Response (IVR) software allows call centre operators to create human-like voice interactions to greet callers. It also helps to shorten call handling and hold times by allowing callers to self-route to the best location or agent.
Invoca’s software can be configured in minutes without coding or IT assistance. It works with any phone system, and you can use it to set up customised IVRs for multiple locations. Even better: It allows you to handle a large volume of calls and maintain high service standards without needing to scale your workforce proportionally.
Once a customer’s call has been routed to the right contact centre agent, that agent can use Invoca’s conversational AI tools like PreSense to create a VIP experience for the customer. PreSense captures insights from callers’ pre-call digital journeys and packages that data in a convenient screen pop, equipping the agent with much of the key information they need to handle the call effectively.
The detail PreSense provides might include the caller’s name, which product page they visited before their call, and whether they have an item sitting in their online cart. This information allows agents to take a more personalised approach to every customer call.
Invoca’s AI also helps behind the scenes in call centres on-premise or in the cloud by automating many of the time-consuming administrative jobs previously handled manually by call centre managers, such as quality assurance (QA).
Invoca’s ability to quickly and accurately analyse and score conversation data at scale means call centre managers can conduct QA based on 100% of calls, not just a small sample. This not only results in much more accurate QA, but it also allows agents and managers to get insights from calls faster as well as analyse complete calls.
Invoca’s AI-driven technology helps ensure optimal handling of every caller interaction, underscoring why conversation analytics is a must-have for any call or contact centre operation, whether it’s on-premise or in the cloud.
As you continue your research to determine which contact centre setup is right for your business, on-premise or cloud, consider reviewing these additional resources from Invoca:
To learn more about how Invoca’s conversational AI tools can help you run a standout contact centre operation in any location, contact us today to set up a customised demo.
